Sometimes throwing money at a problem can solve it.
Health care and other frontline public service workers have been run down, undervalued and overburdened for too long in this province. They are burned out, frustrated and fed up and outcries from experts warning the system is in danger of flatlining have gone unheeded.
“We are deeply, sincerely afraid that the health care system in Alberta is ready to collapse past the point of repair any time soon," Alberta Medical Association (AMA) president Dr. Shelley Duggan was quoted as saying in a recent Canadian Press article. "And because we must advocate for our patients, our patience has come to an end."
"The AMA and unions representing Alberta’s health care workers have repeatedly raised the alarm, and called for action to recruit and retain health care workers," stated a press release from Friends of Medicare.
"It’s increasingly undeniable that widespread, chronic short-staffing is harming not only patients and health care workers, but our entire public health care system."
Because so many frontline workers have left the province in recent years due to budget cuts there are shortages and inadequacies everywhere in the health care system in Alberta, from facilities needing upgrades to physician shortages and not enough nurses to underpaid kitchen staff, and the list goes on.
While the province does need to recruit more health care professionals, there are talented, dedicated workers here already and giving them what they're asking for at the negotiation tables would go a long way towards improving retention and stemming the bleeding.
It was an enlightening experience to spend a night in the Ponoka emergency department this summer.
In the middle of the week, in the middle of the night, you wouldn't think the ED would be very busy in small-town Ponoka, but it was.
Although the hospital staff were never anything less than courteous and efficient, you could nevertheless see the strain if you were paying attention.
The head nurse apologized for wait times, a hint of anxiety creeping into her voice.
A police officer attempted to console a screaming child in the middle of the night who kept calling for him. When he was gone the nurses did their best to soothe the child in calm, compassionate tones that also belied a familiarity that suggested the child, possibly with special needs, may have been a frequent visitor.
An elderly woman brought in via ambulance had thrown up during transit. The paramedics quietly explained things to the concerned daughter who had followed behind, and the woman was quickly taken to a room.
I was not an urgent case, but I was still taken care of as promptly as possible and I didn't mind waiting, sleeping on and off as I was given medicine and blood samples were taken for testing.
After being admitted for almost 12 hours, the following afternoon I dozed off on a gurney in the hallway as there were no rooms available as I waited to speak to a doctor about my test results. Again, not complaining. There were more urgent cases and I was just grateful to be able to put my head down and close my eyes for a bit.
When the doctor was able to see me, he only had a few minutes but he explained things in a way that I could understand and answered my questions before hurrying off to his next patient.
The professionalism and quality of care never faltered, but a certain haggardness or low morale still seemed observable.
As it would happen, I would interview Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) members later the same week at a rally they were holding in town for public sector workers, including health care professionals. Their stories gave further context and only confirmed what I'd seen.
They are asking for respectful wages that reflect their true value, the reality of inflation and provide an actual living wage.
AUPE's current ask is a 26 per cent wage increase over three years. AUPE central regional vice president Darren Graham explained the union's request takes into account that employees have effectively lost 12 per cent to inflation over the last decade.
Seems reasonable to me, as a third of 26 per cent would amount to only a $1.73 per hour raise for a worker making $20 an hour.
However, in a press release on Sept. 6, Minister of Finance Nate Horner said while public sector workers are hard-working professionals and they're "thankful" for the services they provide, he dismissed their rallies over the summer, saying it's "time for some perspective."
The government is only offering a 7.5 per cent increase over four years and in Horner's statement, seems to be flatly refusing to consider more.
"The average Albertan has not seen this kind of wage increase and this government is not going to increase taxes or cut programs and services Albertans rely on to support pay increases that are far beyond market," said Horner.
In comparison, Horner said most working Albertans received a salary increase of two to three per cent in 2023 and 2024.
The "average" Albertan doesn't have people's lives in their hands every day, have years of medical training or the same crushing student loans. Go ahead, give them beyond market.
I don't know about the minister, but when I have a medical emergency, I'd like my doctor and nurses to be well-rested and paid well enough to feel valued and generally satisfied with their life choices.
In 2022 in Alberta, 47.7 young nurses were leaving the profession before they turned 35, for every 100 new entrants - four per cent higher than in 2013, according to a study of the Canadian health care system by the Montreal Economic Institute that was released on Sept. 24.
“It is troubling that nearly one out of two young nurses in Alberta are leaving the profession before they turn 35,” said Krystle Wittevrongel, director of research at the MEI.
“That’s a lot of people who could be treating Albertans and contributing to shorten wait times, but who aren’t because they were discouraged by the health system.”
A report released by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) on Sept. 23 shows that provinces spent $1.6 billion on for-profit nursing agencies last year to make up for a lack of stable staffing and long-term workforce planning. That means that instead of giving local nurses pay increases, they're paying for travel nurses, who work for a higher rate, to come in to fill shortages.
The CFNU found in a survey that the most common reasons for leaving nursing was a lack of control over their schedule, and mandatory overtime as well as wanting better pay.
Despite the ongoing pushback from the government, AUPE isn't throwing in the gauze just yet.
“It is time for AUPE members to stand up for ourselves and the Albertans who rely on us," said Bonnie Gostola, AUPE vice president, in a recent release. "We are ready and willing to fight for the improved collective agreements and critical public services we deserve."
The province started cutting health care spending right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and continued with the cuts over the following years despite the ongoing public health crisis and strained system.
The UCP party line at the time was the health care budget in the province was over-inflated and spending was much higher per capita than the national average, so it may have seemed logical to "trim the fat," but the cuts were too deep and too fast resulting in the crisis we have today.
The province has millions of dollars to spend on health care (see the announcement on Sept. 24 of nearly $15.5 million being spent on improving access to rural health care). Investment in facilities is great but how about giving some of that cash to the employees who actually run the facilities?
It's time to stop short-changing health care workers. Just give them the money they're asking for.
